WESTPORT -- In a game where yards were hard to come by it finally came down to a foot.

Xavier senior place kicker Andrew Verre booted a 19-yard field goal with 1.3 seconds left in the game, giving his Falcons a 3-0 victory over the host Staples Wreckers in their season-opening FCIAC-SCC showdown game on Friday night.

"It's just a shame to play that against a program like (Xavier) and lose with 1.3 seconds left on a field goal," said Staples head coach Marce Petroccio. "It's gut-wrenching for the kids. It's a shame."

It was a contested ruled by the two defenses until Xavier quarterback Mike Scherer, on a broken down third-and-eight pass play, ran for his life and scrambled from one side of the field to the other and then up the field 35 yards before stepping out of bounds.

Simultaneously as he stepped out of bounds, Scherer was hit by a Staples player, drawing a arguable 15-yard personal foul penalty, as well.

The entire play changed the field position from the Xavier-22 to the Staples-30 with less than three minutes to play in the game.

"That's one of Mike's strong points," said Xavier coach Sean Marinan. "He can make people miss in space and you'll liable to get the big play at some point."

From Petroccio's perspective, the play was one of the many mistakes his Wreckers made over the course of the evening.

"The shame is we play so great and then give up a (45)-yard run and give up a personal foul," he said. "You're not going to beat a team like Xavier doing that."

Ted Duarte followed with two rushes of 11 and 9 yards to get the ball inside the 20.

Later, on a third-and-four with 26.7 seconds left to play, he struggled ahead for four yards. The referee's spot gave Xavier a first down by half the length of the football.

Three plays later, Marinan called on Verre to win the game with a field goal that was one yard shorter than an extra point.

"It was a nail-biter and it could have gone either way," said Marinan. "From a coach's perspective, it was an ugly game with a lot of mistakes, but I'm very happy we were able to convert the field goal. It's huge to get a win down here."

Xavier out-gained Staples 163-115 in total yards.

"The offense just wasn't in sync," said Petroccio. "All I can say is you can't make the amount of mistakes we made tonight and expect to win the game. Too many turnovers, two first downs taken away on penalties. It's unacceptable."

Staples best chance at points came early in the second quarter.

Will Newman recovered a Duarte fumble at the Xavier-24.

The Wreckers got the ball down to the Falcons-17 before turning the ball right back over on a fumble to end the threat.

Staples later dodged a bullet early in the third quarter when Xavier took the ball from its own 18 down to the Staples-2.

Duarte was sacked for a 7-yard loss, giving Verre a shot at a 31-yard field goal.

A high snap, however, ended the field goal attempt, sending Scherer, the holder, scrambling for a receiver.

Instead, he threw a pass intercepted by Staples Jackson Ward. It was the Wreckers' second pick as Ryan Connors had one earlier in the game.

The Wreckers never got inside the Xavier-43 the rest of the game, however, and the Falcons were able to put together one drive to get enough points to escape with the win.

"I think, honest to God, you can't shoot yourself in the foot that many times," said Petroccio. "The kids up front (on defense) were dominant. I'm proud of how we played defensively. Offensively, we need work. I don't know what it was, but we'll get it right."